Hope Town, Abacos

After spending the morning snorkeling again in Pelican Cay Park, we left for the short hour and a half run to Hope Town. Because the seas were so calm, we decided to go on the ocean side which took a bit less time.  After entering HopeTown Harbour through a pretty skinny passageway, we took a mooring ball that was associated with Hope Town Marina and Inn.  This was a great choice because we had use of their beautiful facilities (pool, bathrooms,  laundry, etc.) for a  very reasonable price.  There were many beautiful boats in the harbor and we always had the iconic lighthouse in our view.

As soon as we arrived we met up with our new friends Daniel, Mika, Jill and Steve at the pool.  We walked through town past the a most interesting cemetery - the Cholera Cemetery for victims of the cholera epidemic of the 1850's..

Afterwards we all went into town for dinner that night at Sip Sip Wine Bar which had been recommended by another cruiser we had met at Mangoes.  It was a good local place that served food other than the ubiquitous fried fish!

On Wednesday we had the treat of meeting our friends Steve and Tisha Ziskind at their children’s school in Hope Town.  Steve and Tisha have recently moved from Florida to live full time at their Hope Town home.  They have two young children and they enjoy the village atmosphere and slower pace of living that island life affords them.  The little Hope Town School was established in  the mid 1800s, and has been a great experience for their kids.  We joined Steve and Tisha for lunch duty that day and met their kids.

We later had lunch together with another expat from Austria that now makes Hope Town home and visited the local historical museum that had some interesting photos and artifacts about Hope Town.  Walking through town frequently ended in beautiful passages to spectacular waterfront views.

After returning to Zendo, we spent some time cooling off in the marina’s pool – very comfortable!
Jonny had been wanting to do some fishing, so Steve offered to take him out on Thursday to try their luck.  They were gone most of the day but unfortunately came home empty-handed! That evening one of our boaters was trying to retrieve his parrot who had decided to visit the neighboring boats.  He must have spent an hour following the parrot in his dinghy as he flew boat to boat in the mooring field!

 On Friday, we spent the day walking through Hope Town's settlement area, the central part of town.  It’s very small, quaint and authentic.  There was a great coffee shop and some good gift shops.

 This is a town where people get around either on foot, by golf cart or by boat or ferry.  Everyone seems to know everyone else, crime is almost non-existent and there is a very relaxed atmosphere  in this Bahama time zone!

Steve and Tisha invited us to their Hummingbird Hill home for dinner on Friday night.  Just before it was time to take the dinghy in to meet Steve, it started to rain, so we donned our rain gear and ventured out to meet him at the town dock.  

The last time we had been to their home was 20 years ago for our 10th wedding anniversary.  It was lovely then and Steve has expanded it considerably since making it into a real family home especially now that they are living there full time with their two young children, Teddy and Rosie.

Our enjoyable evening brought a perfect closure to the time we spent in Hope Town, which remains  one of our very favorite spots in the Abacos.

Lynyard Cay Anchorage, Abacos

We had an eventful day on Monday, June 13 after we left Mangoes Marina in Marsh Harbour bound for Little Harbour.  We left at 9:45 on an absolutely stunning day.  We headed out for a day of snorkeling at Sandy Cay Reef which is part of the Pelican Cays Land and Sea Park.  This protected park setting was reported to be one of the top two snorkeling spots in the Abacos.

 

       We arrived at Pelican Harbour at 12:30 and dropped the hook and ate lunch.

 From there we took the dinghy to the reef and grabbed one of the moorings there.  We went for two dives in this beautiful marine sanctuary.  The water was crystal clear and though we didn’t have an underwater camera, we were able to capture just a bit of the beauty there.  These shimmering images of the coral beneath the water remind us of an impressionistic painting.

The coral reefs were extensive and very healthy.  We were especially taken by the massive elk horn coral. We saw a lot of fish including Sergeant Majors, parrot fish and many others whose names we don’t know.

From there we headed over to Little Harbour where we planned to anchor for the night.  Little Harbour is a beautiful, small, fully-protected anchorage.  It is known for Pete’s Pub, a famous watering hole.  It has also been home to an artist named Randolph Johnston and his wife, Margot, who founded an art colony there in the 1950’s. He was a sculptor and his wife worked in ceramics.  Randolph has since died and their son, Pete, now runs the pub and gallery there.

We dinghied over to the dock, tied up and interacted with the old salts at the dock, watched a manatee swimming below the dock, then strolled up the hill to the artist studio and pub. 

Unfortunately the studio had closed for the day.  But lucky for us, scattered around the grounds were many interesting samples of Randolph’s beautiful works.

Pete's Pub is an open air bar perched on the side of a hill overlooking the enclosed harbor.  We grabbed a drink and followed the bartender’s advice to walk up and over the ridge for a view of the ocean.

And what a view it was with the crashing waves on the rocky beach!

The restaurant at Pete’s has a good reputation but we had to wait until 6 for the menu to be posted.  We were contemplating whether we would stay at the anchorage in the harbor or venture outside.  We had to make a decision before the tide turned as the entrance to the harbor was very shallow at low tide.   We were concerned about staying in the harbor as we wouldn’t be able to leave the next morning until 11 when the tide was high enough. Also, the harbor was so enclosed (a great hurricane hole) that there were no breezes and it was very hot.  By 6p.m. the menu was posted and although it was clearly the most interesting selection of anything we’ve seen in the Abacos, we decided to pass and find an alternative anchorage.

We found a great one in Lynyard Cay  - just a short hop away from Sandy Cay where we had been snorkeling earlier.  There were several boats anchored along a very long stretch of Lynyard Cay, all separated by large distances.  The water was very calm and we were able to catch a slight breeze.  We tucked in for the night after hearing from one of the boats we passed on our way to anchor.  They recognized our MTOA flag and hailed us to let us know that although they were originally planning to attend the MTOA event at Treasure Cay, they were no longer able to having been delayed in their journey.  They asked us to pass on their regrets to the organizers.

After dinner onboard we did some star gazing with an amazing app called SkyView.  When pointing your phone with this app at the night sky, it shows all the planets and constellations with their names and accompanying drawings and it is accompanied by evocative music.  It’s the coolest

thing!

The next morning we took the dinghy to the beach at Pelican Cay Park near Sandy Cay (where we had snorkeled the day before).  We were the first to arrive on this pristine beach.  There was only one small structure on the cay that provided a modicum of shade.  We explored it for a little while before we headed back to snorkel again off of Sandy Cay.

 

Marsh Harbour, Abacos

On a cloudy and warm Thursday, June 9, we left Man-O-War Cay for the quick one hour cruise to Marsh Harbour.  This is the biggest town in the Abacos and the only one where we had a chance of getting our outboard repaired.  It is also the town that people fly in  and out of to get to the Abacos.

We chose a wonderful marina called Mangoes and it has become our favorite marina on the trip so far.  With its funky Key West vibe and small size, it provided all the amenities we needed in an attractive island-like, tropical setting.  It had a comfy and attractive cruisers lounge and an outdoor area complete with pool and hammock.  Lynn spent quite a bit of time in these areas because it was the only place with a decent internet connection (hence the big delay in getting blog posts out).

Upon arrival, our first task was to contact the local Mercury dealer who arranged to come and pick up our outboard. We spent the rest of the day cleaning up the boat, relaxing, and meeting some of the neat people who also made this a great stop for us.

On Friday, we prepared to  walk the mile or so to the Mercury dealer to  pay for the repairs.  We were walking though town which is clearly not the most picturesque one in the Abacos.  It is the best place, however, to shop and get any kind of work done.   We walked through town on this cloudy day but when we arrived at the dealer, our credit card was rejected.  Someone had stolen the number and was making unauthorized charges on it in the U.S.  We then had to trudge back to the boat to get another card.  By this time, we decided to divide and conquer and Lynn detoured to the well-stocked grocery store while Jonny paid the OB bill.  While she was in the store it started to pour with the rain pelting down on the tin roof of the grocery.  Jonny showed up to meet her for the walk home having received a ride from the dealer who delivered the OB back to the boat.  As we exited the grocery, the power went off and we, along with a dozen other patrons, stood on the porch watching the deluge.  Fortunately we were able to catch a cab ride back to Zendo. We spent the evening checking out the local pub’s version of the Goombay Smash.

Next day, Saturday, dawned sunny and bright.  A great day to try the local snorkeling reef on the other side of the harbor.  We dinghied over to Mermaid Reef where several boats were already moored.  It was a   good reef with plenty of colorful fish and we had great fun there.  Afterwards we took a spin around that part of the key and saw some beautiful homes in a quiet harbor.

By this time we had befriended two very lively sets of boaters.  The first set, two guys from North Carolina named Daniel and Micah, were taking a 3 month  break from their jobs to sail Daniel’s boat through the Bahamas.  They were great fun, bright, live wires and just full of energy and good will.  The second set were Steve and Jill from Cape Coral, who were on an extended cruise aboard their sailboat.  They had sort of “adopted”  Daniel and Micah and had been traveling together for part of their journey.  Together we tried the local bars and planned an outing for the next day.  

One of the bars was called Curly Tail after the local lizards that pop up everywhere in this area (see the first picture in this post).  They are very cute and this bar was beautifully decked out with the best view of the harbor.

Daniel’s girlfriend, Erin, had arrived for the weekend and he wanted to give her the full experience so we decided to check out the famous Nipper’s for their Sunday soiree.  Since Zendo could most comfortably accommodate all of us, we set out on Sunday for Great Guana Cay where Nipper's is located.  Jonny and I would have stopped at Guana Cay on the way to Man-O-War  Cay had our travel day not been  so  rainy.  It has a beautiful beach and supposedly good snorkeling.  For those who aren’t familiar with Nipper's, it is a  long standing beach bar that is known for its party atmosphere.  On Sundays they host a big barbecue lunch and people come from all around to partake in the festivities.

As we walked the trail to get to Nipper’s, we were greeted by two very pretty (and topless) young women who had apparently been having a very good time.  They greeted us, obviously very tipsy, and we wondered what we would be encountering when we arrived.  But, perhaps to the disappointment of some of the guys, we found the remaining patrons drinking, dancing, eating and swimming in an array of apparel some more interesting than others. 

We ate lunch on the patio observing the scene and then went down to the beach.

 Reports about the snorkeling were not favorable so Steve and Jonny checked it out to confirm.  The rest of us went swimming at the beach or in one of the pools, had drinks and people watched.  There was music and dancing and carrying on.  A good time was had by all!

Later that afternoon, as we trudged up the dirt path back to our dingy, the party was carrying on without us. 

We had a beautiful cruise back to our calm little Mangrove Marina.  Our guests got a big kick out of traveling on Zendo and we got a big kick out of them including our onboard showers!

That evening we took it easy and had a quiet dinner on Zendo and tucked into bed a little early.

We stayed at Mangoes for four nights and really enjoyed ourselves there.  An added attraction was the fact that that the manager only charged us the monthly rate for staying which certainly added to our appreciation of this cool little marina!

Man-O-War Cay, Abacos

After two nights at Green Turtle Cay, we decided to move on to Man-O-War Cay.  We had been there before on a previous Bahamian vacation many years ago and we had good memories of it as well as a tee shirt that Lynn still wears!  Early in the morning it appeared that the weather would be okay for the passage through Whale Cay Channel.  This was important because this channel consists of a narrow passage between two cays and back again through another narrow passage. There are times when the weather can produce a ‘rage’ which results in large ocean swells that break along the reefs lining those cays. Fortunately for us, the passage through Whale Cay Channel was predicted to be (and was) relatively calm.

However, as soon as we left the dock at the yacht club, we saw storm clouds in the distance.  We decided to proceed anyway and for awhile we were running ahead of the storm.  But not for long!  We hastily closed our Strataglass curtains and hunkered down during a spell of pouring rain.  Jonny started getting nervous as we got closer to Whale Cay Channel because we were beginning to experience white out conditions and our radar was not working as well for us here in the Bahamas as it did during our Down East journey. (out of practice!) Fortunately, the conditions improved and though it was still raining, we were able to navigate the channel successfully. 

If the weather had been better, we would have stopped and anchored off of Great Guana Cay where there are beautiful  beaches and snorkeling.  But because the weather was predicted to be overcast and rainy and the winds did not favor those anchorages, we proceeded on to Man-O-War Cay.

We arrived at the narrow entrance to that well-protected harbor at about 2 p.m. and picked up a mooring ball (after several attempts).  The mooring field can be quite crowded but this time of year it’s not as busy and we were fine. 

We took the dinghy in to Man-O-War and strolled through town. Man-0-War Cay was settled by Loyalists after the Revolutionary War.  This town’s main industry is boat building and the main street and coast are lined with boat building establishments.

We strolled along and visited a couple of shops that sold fabrics.  Lynn had purchased a robe here many years ago as women in the Bahamas weave beautiful colorful fabrics that they use to make garments, tablecloths, etc.  The prices were exorbitant however so Lynn passed.

We also visited a sail cloth making shop where women busily sewing very nice bags of all sorts from colorful sail cloth. Again, a pass,  Jonny was looking for some boat supplies but we keep getting referred to Marsh Harbour for these needs.

We strolled through the residential area where there were colorful homes, many lined with conch shells and whimsical decorations.

We stopped for a refreshing ice cream cone and watched the world go by.  There are golf carts here instead of cars.

The island has historically been dry until just recently.

As a result there are no bars on the island though we understand the restaurants (2) now serve drinks.  We thought we would grab one at the Dock and Dine restaurant next to our marina but at 5 p.m. it showed no sign of being open soon nor was there a bar – so we created our own happy hour aboard Zendo.

We had a delicious dinner of eggplant parmesan that Lynn had made prior to the trip and settled in for the evening to watch one more movie, Pitch Perfect 2.